Franz Schönfeld (resistance fighter)
Franz Schönfeld (born February 11, 1890 in Vienna , † September 19, 1944 there ) was an Austrian community official and resistance fighter against the Nazi regime . He was sentenced to death by the Nazi judiciary and beheaded in the Vienna Regional Court .
Life
Franz Schönfeld and his sister Marie Schönfeld (* 1898) came from Währing and were devout Catholics . They were among the legitimists and advocated the restoration of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy . "As a so-called Austrian", according to the indictment, Franz Schönfeld felt "unhappy and unfree" after the annexation of Austria . Together, the siblings produced “highly treasonable inflammatory and diatribes” and distributed them on the streets and in post boxes from May 1942 until the arrest on May 20, 1943, or sent them by post to various NSDAP and police stations.
A leaflet contained a parody of the Deutschlandlied : “Germany, Germany has to disappear from the world, let's hope that it will soon fall miserably into ruins. [...] German terror, German audacity German pressure and German compulsion, never let them torment us all our lives. "In another of the NSDAP - Gau Vienna skillful leaflet was threatened that" we in our stolen Austrian Country Slit open your bellies that you have eaten at our expense, tear out your bowels and use them to wreath the images of Hitler. ”The pamphlets were written by Franz, Marie helped with the reproduction. The Gestapo recorded a total of around 65 different texts, including this pamphlet found in March 1943:
“What Germany means for us can be briefly summarized in three points, namely: the Germans are:
1. the biggest bandits in the world because they assassinated us,
2. mass murderers because they coldly butcher so many thousands of innocent people ,
3. Vampires, because they suck our life marrow. "
Death sentence and execution
“The Schönfeld siblings are clerical and fanatical supporters of legitimism. Your anti-state activity was ultimately aimed at preparing the ground for the Habsburg Monarchy in the East Mark. "
Marie and Franz Schönfeld were sentenced to death on July 15, 1944 by the People's Court for “preparing for high treason and favoring the enemy ”.
“There is no place for such people in the German national community. You have made yourself forever dishonorable [...] and must be stamped out of it. "
The execution of the Schönfeld siblings by guillotine took place on September 19, 1944 in the Vienna Regional Court .
Commemoration
His name and that of his sister can be found on the plaque in the former execution room of the Vienna Regional Court .
swell
- Bailer , Maderthaner , Scholz (ed.): "The enforcement went without any special features". Executions in Vienna, 1938 - 1945. Vienna, undated, pages 90f, online (with three photographs by Franz Schönfeld): [1]
- Documentation archive of the Austrian resistance : No longer anonymous , with photos from the identification file of the Gestapo Vienna, accessed on April 10, 2015
- Fine, Erich: The stones speak. Memorials of the Austrian struggle for freedom. Memorials for the victims of fascism. A documentation. Vienna 1975
- Willi Weinert: “You can put me out, but not the fire”: a guide through the grove of honor of Group 40 at the Vienna Central Cemetery for the executed resistance fighters . Wiener Stern-Verlag, 3rd edition 2011 [2]
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schönfeld, Franz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian community official and resistance fighter against National Socialism |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 11, 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 19, 1944 |
| Place of death | Vienna |